


Hold Onto You

by infinitewritings



Series: The Heart of Harry Wells [4]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Cliffhangers, F/M, Harry Wells can't stop staring at her, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Trust, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Tension, Yearning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:09:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24908152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitewritings/pseuds/infinitewritings
Summary: Harry knew Earth-1 wasn't for ever, yet he doesn't want to leave while she's preparing herself for a time without him.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Cisco Ramon/Caitlin Snow, Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells/Reader, Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells/You
Series: The Heart of Harry Wells [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574707
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Hold Onto You

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Taylor Swift for your songs, the title comes from her song New Year's Day. 
> 
> This would be very hard alone. M, thank you for being patient and for all your inspiration.

“Would you like me to drop you off at your Earth on my way back?” 

It was a simple question. A question that kept floating around Harry’s mind ever since Jay asked. Harry can always remember the exact moment with every detail still fresh in his mind. There was a hub of conversation that day. Jay had gotten the clear approval from Caitlin on his health and Cisco was going off about figuring out the basic elements of the steel mask. Barry was offering light and quiet jokes in between conversations. And, Olivia—he always found his way to her—was shuffling between her files of her latest case. Her eyes were fixed on the screen in front of her. Harry still remembered she had her hair pulled up in a tight and messy bun—something she always did when she needed to concentrate. A strand had slipped out of the tight grip and she was spinning her finger through it, curling it and unravelling it. Harry was staring at this board, trying to solve the next problem.

It was a normal day. 

Caitlin patted Jay’s shoulder and gave him her special proud smile when he turned to Harry and asked him, “would you like me to drop you off at your Earth on my way back?”

Olivia’s finger stopped mid curl, her eyes were frozen on her papers. Everyone turned their eyes to Harry. Harry stood frozen at the board. Jesse had always brought it before and he was sifting through the possibility. He knew it was coming, this was never a for ever trip. There was an answer to the question, the smart answer, he just wasn’t convinced with it. So, with his breath stuck in his throat, Harry tried to come up with an excuse. Time ticked. Eyes kept staring.

Now, he knows he took too long to answer.

Olivia waited and listened. Her hands were curled into fists and she had pulled her lip between her teeth. When the silence continued, she squeaked the chair away from the desk and marched out of the room and never looked back. His answer was a no, a simple not yet but Harry knew she didn’t hear that. He wanted to call after her and wanted to explain himself. But, she stopped coming to the lab—working from home and coming only when needed. Their glances had stopped. The possibility of catching her smiling at him had become impossible. He was hoping their daily serum injections could mean he would see her more, but she stopped coming and he didn’t have the words or the confidence to tell her otherwise.

Harry’s never been a sentimental man. The only things he’s ever saved in his life was the little bits of Jesse’s life—everything from the first sonography to the newspaper article featuring her research. However, he felt himself gathering the moments he’s had with Olivia and saving them and holding onto them. Only when he was trying to bury himself in work did he end up revisiting them. 

There was the Christmas coffee and the way the lights in Jitters had lit up her face. He remembered the way she smiled at her coffee thinking it would hide the curl of her lips. He saved their windy silent mornings when they shared each other’s company. The memory of their last minute first aid lesson she rushed through on her phone and cleaned him up always reminded him of the way she cupped his face in her shaking hands and whispered encouragements. Their secret promises and conversations they shared while he was locked up in the pipeline would replay in his mind. She had sat in front of him after arguing with Joe and they worked to find different plans to free Jesse. She even brought a case with her to work through with him for the night.

Harry never liked too many emotions. They were distracting and were only saved for his daughter. And yet, he saw himself trying to wait for a glimpse of Olivia—if she ever came in. He tried to bury himself in the work, trying to fill his time without her but he was beginning to feel uninspired.

He had begun missing their late nights together. There was a time she started staying longer and they were always brewing a coffee for each other as everyone was leaving. Harry would ask her about her cases and the profiles she had created, and she would listen to his stories of Jesse. She asked about his seven PhDs and one night they watched the stars as he explained his dissertations. 

They had created a routine, a dance that Harry missed. 

And, he missed it even more today—not seeing her leaning against the counter, sipping her coffee and soaking the sun. There was a cold case she had shared with him before Zoom was dragged into the Speed Force by the Time Wraiths. It was his way to talk to her and she wasn’t at the office. Harry debated giving her a call or leaving a note. 

Sighing, Harry reached over and instead of his phone grabbed his coffee mug and threw back a long sip. A long, cold sip hit his lips and he slammed the mug back down grimacing at the cold coffee. He wasn’t used to having his mind preoccupied with something other than work. As long he could remember, it was always work and the next problem, the next project. Even, Tess told him he wasn’t making time for work; instead, he had to make time to take time off. However, lately, instead of focusing a project, she was constantly on his mind. Pressing the bridge of his nose, Harry calmed his breath instead of reaching over to throw something. 

“Thinking about Olivia, dad?” Jesse’s voice rang through his ears and he jumped from his chair, turning to her.

“What?”

Stifling a laugh, Jesse raised her eyebrows at him. “I said, are you working on Olivia’s stuff?”

“Yeah, yeah, just stuff she shared before.” 

“Right. Need any help?”

“No, I’m good. I figured it out.” 

“Of course, my dad, the smartest man.” Jesse smirked at him. 

Giving her a smirk, Harry said, “are you looking for Wally?”

“No! I just wanted to talk to my dad.” 

“Good, I like to hear that.” Jesse rolled her eyes as Harry turned back to the screens and stuffed the papers together in a nice pile for the folder.

“I like her.” Harry froze. “Olivia. She’s nice. It’s so easy to talk to her and she’s teaching me how to cook. It’s been so fun. It’s like she never gets mad. And it's crazy how she’s still handling this entire lab.” Harry wasn’t expecting them to bond, especially considering how badly Jesse wanted to go back. However, she stood there and spilled all the nice things she thought of Olivia. He’d seen them interact before with Jesse showing interest in her work and Jesse sharing things she’s learned in her classes. Harry’s never let him think about how Jesse thought of Olivia—he never wanted to go that far. And yet, when Harry face his daughter, she was smiling. Jesse knew what she was doing.

“What.” It wasn’t a question. His mind was still catching up. 

“I like Olivia.” Jesse repeated, enunciating each word. 

“…right.”

“Will you tell her?”

“Tell her what?” Harry still felt lightheaded. 

“That I like her! I hope you’re listening, dad.”

“Right, tell her that you like her.”

“No, say it after me, tell her I like her.” Jesse said.

“Tell her I like her.” Harry repeated. Harry’s eyes widened as the words registered in his head. Clearing his throat, Harry spun around away from his daughter.

“Dad?” Harry grabbed his mug again, holding the old, cold coffee. He chugged back a large sip, wrinkling his nose as it hit his taste buds. Jesse watched her dad turn his gaze from the screens in front of him to the papers around the desk and then sipping the coffee again. Rolling her eyes, a small smile still playing on her lips she watched him do everything but look at her. 

A buzz rang through the room. The big screens on the wall flashed the main entrance of the lab. Caitlin and Barry paused their work in her office and turn towards the screen as Cisco ran through the Cortex, looking around the tables and flipping pages. The four shared a shrug as they watching Cisco continue to mutter under his breath as he went between running his hand through his hair and pacing the area of the room. He jumped table to table.

“Ramon.” Harry’s voice made him pause. 

“What’s that sound?” Caitlin was staring at the screen when someone came in front of the camera. “Is that—”

“Anderson, yep.” Cisco didn’t look up. “I got a buzz on my computer when the camera didn’t recognize his face.”

“Open the door! I need to talk to Olivia!” A voice came through the screens. A buzz rang through the room again. “Let me in! I just want to talk. I’ll keep buzzing.” He buzzed again. Harry watched Caitlin and Barry share a stare as their shoulders went stiff. 

“And you have a bell?” Harry asked Cisco.

“It was my idea. Otherwise, we’d never know if someone was outside.”

“And this guy is important?”

“He’s—A competitor.” Caitlin shrugged—lacking a better word for him. Another buzz. He knocked against their door and paced around the camera and stared back at it. 

“I know you’re in there, Olivia! Open the door.”

“Where is my phone?” Cisco went from Caitlin’s office, back to the tables and shuffled more papers and pulled out his phone from under a book. “We have to call Olivia. He’s not going to go away without hearing from her.” 

\---

“Olivia?” A voice broke through her thoughts and the echoing, loud music travelled through her ears. She registered the colours and the lights around her. A large crowd in the middle of the room was busy dancing. A man leaning over her table was still waiting for her to come back to the room.

“Sorry, must have been one too many.” Olivia flashed him a smile. Her hand was wet with the condensation from the cold glass in her fingers. Rubbing her fingers together and shoving the drink away, she ran her hands through the skirt of her lehenga, straightening it around her. 

“I was hoping you’d want to share a dance.” His voice got louder as the music kept building up. "I know it’s your favourite song.” Olivia stared at him, waiting for him to continue. “The bride…she told me.” Olivia’s eyes travelled to the large crowd. The bride in her red lehenga gave her a wave and Olivia twisted her shock to a smile. 

“Right. Yes. Of course.” Her eyes scanned her table, hoping to come up with an excuse. Her mind had been away from the room. It was at the Lab finding its way to Harry. She had wandered back to the day when they stood across each other leaning against the Cortex doorway. It was the end of the day, everyone had parted their ways to from their lab. Their conversation had found a nice end, but they stood in each other’s company, staring into each other’s eyes. He had clenched his jaw and the light spilling from the room pronounced his jawline and the dimple that sometimes appears, especially when you’re looking for it. He stood there with his arms crossed. His sweater was tighter that day and wrapped a snug grip as it defined the strength in his arms. His hair had curled upwards with little strands sticking in different places—like he had been running his hand through his hair. A habit, she realized, he had when he had something on his mind.

Harry had broken the gaze with a sigh and while licking his lips he blinked away. When Harry’s blue eyes broke away, the lab had suddenly come rushing back. 

Olivia still wanted to ask him why he blinked away.

But, the man in front of her waited for an answer and she gave him another closed lipped smile. The man was handsome and if it were different circumstances she would have flirted back, but he wasn’t Harry. 

“Right…dance…I—” again scan of the table, “of course.” While smoothing down the skirt of her lehenga, her phone, like a saviour, buzzed. She was ready to answer a survey about the opinion of a meta-human defending the city.

The phone flashed Cisco’s name and Olivia furrowed her brows and wrinkled her nose while pointing to her phone, “sorry, I have to take this.” Not waiting for his response, Olivia turned away and walked closed to the doors.

“Cisco, you have the world’s greatest best timing!”

“Can you come to the lab, we need you.” Her mind raced through different scenarios. Another meta-human. Caitlin got hurt. Zoom came back. Harry already left. Barry.

“What happened? Is Barry okay?” She dragged her feet further away from the music as the feeling sunk deeper in her stomach reminding her that she shouldn’t have taken the night off. 

“No, no, Barry…he’s fine. Of course, he’s fine.” Cisco heard a soft sigh as he continued, “someone’s here.” 

“Who?”

“Anderson.”

“Anderson?” Olivia’s legs froze. The name echoed louder than the music around her. Her breath stuck in her throat tightened her jaw. She gripped her phone closer to her ear. There was only one Anderson she knew, and she had managed to forget that name. She had ignored his calls along with any interactions with other competitors. “Anderson from Horizon Labs?” She always hated that name. 

“Yep, that one.” A loud buzz travelled through the Cortex to Olivia’s ear. 

“All the way from Star City?”

“He keeps banging the door. We haven’t let him in yet.”

“He’s not going to go away.” Olivia grabbed her belongings and strutted away from the party. She shot them a last look as they danced the night away and the man had moved to his friends but kept wandering his eyes to where she was sitting. One of her hands pinched at the skirt of the lehenga as she walked towards her car. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Do not let him see the suit. Lock up the suit somewhere in your workshop and then lock the workshop. When any of you let him in, personally take him to Cortex. Do not let him wander, he has sticky fingers but don’t worry about keeping him occupied, he can do that himself.”

“Yeah, okay, sounds good.” 

“Oh, and Cisco,” Olivia closed her car door behind her, “he’s going to ask you to, but do not call him sir.” 

For all her years with STAR labs, Olivia wasn’t able to shake off Anderson and his constant pestering and taunts. All their interactions were a competition. He loved strutting into her office with a smirk and his head held high and, yet their interactions always ended with her shoving him out of her office. Every time she would close the chapter on him and then move on. Then, he’d come back, and they’d go through the same cycle. In the beginning, it was about building the lab and then, he became a problem during the building of the particle accelerator trying to stop their projects with media. His conspiracy theories never stopped. Anderson would be busy debunking STAR Labs work, rather than focus on his own work.

Anderson jumped back the moment the accelerator exploded and that was the only time Harrison—Eobard—handled the mess. Eobard never shared the details of the interaction, but he had guaranteed that he wouldn’t come back. And, he didn’t. Then, Harrison was labelled a murderer and the first call was from Anderson—a laugh. 

She wasn’t afraid of Anderson. She let him taunt her—it kept him busy. But, as the stakes around her team keeps rising his attention always kept her on high alert. One day, she knew, he would come close to finding out about the Flash and then she wouldn’t know how to stop him. This was the one of the few times she wished she knew want Eobard said the first time. 

However, Olivia wasn’t gripping her steering wheel because of Anderson.

She’s been avoiding Harry since Jay’s question. She’s noticed Harry lingering steps around her whenever she’d find herself at the lab. She’d seen him straighten up when she’d walk into the room. To continue herself from seeing him, she’s missed the last few serum injections. Olivia didn’t want to give him an opportunity to explain his plans to go back to Earth-2 and she didn’t want to give herself the chance to ask him. Instead, she chose to hold onto to their secret, stolen moments.

During their work in saving Jesse and getting rid of Zoom, Harry had become her partner in criminal profiling. One day, working on her deadline, he had wandered into the Cortex and worked around her when she asked for his insight. That night he brought her coffee and when she was falling asleep, offered to continue her work. Since then, he started dedicating time for the two of them to flip through her cases. He exchanged his sleepless nights of working on fighting Zoom to debating their criminal profiles. He would poke holes in her theories and she would do the same to his ideas. First, they would pace around just voicing their ideas, then moved to paper, and then dedicated a clear board with their ideas. Pages were pasted on the board and things were recorded in spurts, but they always moved the board out of the Cortex before the team saw. It had become their secret, stolen moment they weren’t willing to share.

Sometimes, Harry would give her a new book with post-its’ sticking out and sentences underlined. 

Sometimes, he would text her an answer before she woke up for the next day. 

Sometimes, he would tell everyone to go home if they kept lingering. He needs the space for himself, he would say. 

They shared coffees that had gone cold. Every case angered him and took every profile personally, researching it even after the profile was submitted. Before Jay’s question, Harry and Olivia shared pizza nights. They would sit at the roof of the lab, looking at the stars, bury the case away, along with Zoom’s threats. They exchanged their worries and stress for little facts about each other. Olivia learned Harry hates regular cheese pizza; he just doesn’t say anything for Jesse. She learned that he likes his food spicy even though he can’t always handle it. 

She learned that he used to cook. For fun. 

It’s a science its own way, he had said.

Harry had offered to make them dinner once. 

That was before Jay’s question. 

Olivia had stopped taking cases for a while and stuffed herself away at home or only in her office. She went on more walks with Barry, instead, and helped him work through everything post Zoom. She tried to prepare of herself for the inevitable. 

The sun was setting, and the world was coming alive. Couples with arms wrapped together walked towards their dinner dates, soaking up each other’s company. They were lost in each other’s laughs and worlds. They walked together as if there was no one else in the world expect each other. Others waited outside the theatre, with their phones in their hands and their eyes searching the streets. Some rushed toward their dates, running across the street, pressing their hair back down in place, smoothing out the creases in their outfits, and taking a look in the mirror before squaring their shoulders and moving towards the doors. A romance swam through the air and every glimpse shoving her to the past. The past where she walked hand in hand with him as they exchanged stories. She remembered images of the time when he rolled on the wheelchair beside her leading her to the new restaurant. He had booked a table for them because he said they needed to get out of the lab and spend more time just the two of them. _So, I can spend more time just watching you without being interrupted_ , he had said.

Parked at STAR labs, Olivia brought herself back to the present and her hands moved to pat down her hair. She ran her fingers through the strands of her hair and pushed them back, framing her face. Letting out a few breaths, she looked at her reflection in the rear-view mirror. There was no reason for this routine, but she couldn’t stop herself from doing it. Smoothing out the blouse of her lehenga, she let the skirt fall around her as it encircled her with its silks. She felt overdressed but at her most comfortable. Shaking him out of her head, Olivia took long and quick strides towards the entrance, preparing herself to fight Anderson. 

\---

Anderson spun in the chair in the Cortex. His eyes were scanning every inch of the room noting down every detail down to the square. The only sound echoing through the Cortex was his loud chewing. Caitlin and Barry watched him from her office. Their eyes were trained on them and tracking his moves. They had heard stories about him and Caitlin swore she saw him around the lab during the particle accelerator. She knew he went straight to Olivia, not even wasting his time with Eobard. Olivia’s shared little bits about him. They knew he always tried to rile her up. They also knew she didn’t let him take up most of her day. 

But, they knew they couldn’t handle him. And, he walked with a lot more confidence today. 

Harry stood behind them, hidden. His eyes were focused on Anderson. He had chosen to stay in the Cortex, instead of leaving. Partly was because he was being selfish, and he wanted to see Oliva. The other part was because he hated the way Anderson walked in. He’s handled his set of annoying competition and, maybe, Harry was interested to watch Olivia work. Harry planted his feet to the ground, trying to glue him on the spot so he wouldn’t march over to Anderson and wipe the smirk off his face. He's done to his version of Anderson.

The time for everyone ticked slower. Her twenty minutes felt like an entire hour of watching Anderson read their room. Barry and Caitlin kept a silent conversation, trying to convince each there that everything was okay. Barry kept offering to run over to find Olivia, cut back the commute time but Caitlin kept him grounded in place. She kept playing with her phone, preparing herself to call for an update. Cisco and Jesse had gone to lock up the workshop, taking extra care with everything.

Soft steps got louder in the hallway and Harry, Caitlin, and Barry straightened their backs while sharing a look. Harry had a view between Barry and Caitlin and he trained his eyes on the entrance. Olivia had taken the day off, the entire day so he waited and listened.

And then, Olivia walked in. Harry’s breath choked in his throat as his eyes followed her walked through the door. Her walk was different—it was a march almost a strut. Her hair fell around her shoulders, the curls bouncing with her steps. Her strides were longer as the long floral skirt billowed and rippled around her. Harry followed her as she spun to face Anderson. The skirt spun around her, moving the air around her. Her hands rested on her hips and the skirt settled softly around her. The black blouse embraced her, outline the curves Olivia hid in her blazers. The sleeves slid down to her wrists, accentuating her arms as it clung around her. The skirt and blouse almost met at her waist and Harry had to peel his eyes away as the silver of skin caught a gasp in his throat. He felt like he was intruding somewhere he wasn’t allowed. She stood across the room from him—glowing with a grace and power while the lights throughout the room outlined her silhouette. 

Olivia always managed to make him lose his breath and his lungs were aching. 

“Why are you here Anderson?” Her voice broke through the silence in the Cortex and pulled Harry back to the room back.

“You look nice.” Anderson got up from the chair and stuffed his hands in his pockets. His smirk still obvious. 

“Really?” Olivia stayed firm in her spot hoping her rooted feet keep her from punching him.

“It’s compliment!”

“I don’t care. Why are you here?” 

“I’m surprised you still have this lab functioning. I thought Harrison was firm on following the FEMA classification.” 

“Yeah, well, Harrison was an idiot.” Olivia crossed her arms and Harry watched the sleeves cling around the curves of her muscles. Anderson scoffed as Cisco walked into the Cortex with Jesse. Cisco gave Olivia a nod and she glared back at Anderson, waiting for his answer.

“He built this.” 

“I built this. With the help from scientists, especially the one’s around here.” Anderson flashed a look around, keeping everyone in his peripheral. 

Keeping his eyes on Jesse, Anderson nodded at her, “who are you?”

Harry flinched. Anderson’s gaze went top to bottom on Jesse and Harry curled his fingers into a tight fist while clenching his jaw. Anderson’s eyes continued to linger on Jesse and Harry’s blood pumped faster. 

“She’s a scientist. What’s your problem?” Olivia stood in between Anderson’s gaze and Jesse. Her arms across her chest and her eyes narrowed. 

“She’s too young to be a scientist.”

“Well, she’s a prodigy. Answer my question.”

“I thought it would be nice to connect.”

Letting a groan, Olivia rolled her eyes and gripped the panel of the table in front of her, “Because of you, I had to leave behind the opportunity to dance to my favourite song with a great, handsome guy. So clearly. I am running low on patience and you’re wasting my time.” Olivia leaned closer to him. “So, one more time before I throw you out, why are you here?” Her eyes never broke eye contact with him.

“I drove all the way here, I want to savour the moment. And you.” Harry frowned as he watched Anderson send Olivia a wink.

“No one asked you to come! You could have called.”

“So, you could ignore me?”

“Yes! I like to watch you go to voicemail, so I can ignore you more.” 

Harry had always been curious of Olivia’s business side. He’s heard stories from the team about her work before the explosion. He knew she was the one heading the meetings, the one who motivated them to keep working. They’ve had so many hiccups along the way, so many miscalculations and false positives that the team only picked themselves up because of her. Eobard was always busy in the science. He was there to help with the work and she was the one to push the work forward. She was the one who faced the cameras hours after the explosion. She had teared herself away from Eobard’s hospital bed to stand in front of a public and apologize and then Olivia helped everyone find viable options to move away from STAR Labs—Cisco and Caitlin included. Harry wanted to see her in her element.

“You can’t continue this,” Olivia waited for him to continue. “You stole something of mine.” A scoff. Olivia broke into little laughs as Anderson kept watching her.

Pulling her lips together, she cleared her throat. “You’re serious. You’re sure? You’re _sure_ I stole something of yours? Why would I ever do that? If I want something, we’ll make it and it would be better than yours. Why would I waste my time to steal your trash?”

“Don’t know what to tell you, _Livy_ ,” Olivia flinched, “but you stole my property.”

“Are you planning on telling me what it is?”

“You stole my satellite!” Cisco felt like the wind was knocked out of his lungs. 

Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes, “you know I have two of my own. Why would I need your waste?” Anderson tightened his jaw. Anderson knew she was right—it’s always been inadequate to the work she’s managed to produce out of STAR Labs. She doesn’t stop from reminding him. 

“I don’t know, but you took it. Your little hackers took it.” Olivia perked her head towards Cisco as she heard him clear his throat. Old interactions spilled in her memory, but she straightened her back and stared at Anderson who began to walk towards her, moving closer to Jesse with his eyes trained on her. His finger accused Jesse who turned her eyes behind Caitlin and Barry towards her father.

“You did it, didn’t you?” Harry was about to shove past Barry and Caitlin when Anderson lurched toward Jesse and Olivia slid in between Anderson and Jesse, her eyes burning into Anderson. Her fingers rested on his tie. 

“You take one step closer to her, I will break your fingers.” Anderson froze.

“You wouldn’t.”

“You’re standing in the middle of a volatile lab. You don’t know _what_ I’ll do.” The room chilled. A cold breeze flew through the room, stunning everyone in their spot. Shivers went down everyone’s spine as their eyes stayed on Olivia. In their entire time together, Cisco and Caitlin had never heard a threat come from Olivia. She’s raised her voice, she’s been firm and strict, but she was always calm. And yet, she stood in front of Anderson as he loomed over her small frame glaring at him. He staggered back still trying to collect his thoughts. 

“You and Harrison are the same.” It was a whisper from Anderson. Maybe it was supposed to be for himself, but the words echoed around the room and Olivia let out a sigh. 

“What do you want, Anderson? Clearly, I can’t pay for the emotional damage this has caused you and you know this can’t hurt my reputation. Because, I don’t have one. So, why are you here? Not from the goodness of your heart.” 

“I want my satellite back.”

“You can have your space garbage back.” 

“And a public apology.” 

“What? No!” Cisco spoke up for Olivia. “She won’t be doing that. You’re getting your satellite back, that should be enough.” Olivia glared at him with a square jaw and Cisco focused solely on Anderson.

“As I told you, I don’t have a reputation. An apology from won’t mean anything for your investors. My apology won’t give you any business, I’d be wasting—”

“People still look up to STAR Labs. Even after the explosion! Everyone should have ripped this lab to shreds, should have ripped you and Harrison apart too. The explosion killing so many people? Your fault. The singularity? Your fault. The meta humans? Your fault. But every single time you or your lab are in the news, everyone listens. And, you twist everyone in your favour! A few words from your carefully crafted speech answers all their questions and you gain more supporters.” Anderson circled around her. “You know the weight your words carry. You manage to keep people overlooking your goddamn ridiculous, stupid mistakes! You twist everything in your favour. Even after Harrison publicly announced that he knew the dangers of the accelerator, people forgave him! Obviously not because he was on a wheelchair, but because you helped write his speech, because you were standing behind him. Olivia, you know the power you hold. So, I need a public apology from you.” 

“She’s not doing it.” Cisco stood next to Olivia. 

“Cisco don’t—”

“He doesn’t deserve your apology, Liv! He’s stolen so much of our research and just because he found out, after months, that his satellite was hacked, he thinks you needs to apologize? It’s not happening.” Anderson smirked at everyone in the room.

“Then, give me the Flash.” 

“Excuse me?” Olivia’s voice filled the silence.

“How is it that every time the Flash helps someone, STAR Labs is the first ones on the scene? Either you’re the one deciding where the meta-humans go, or you know where the Flash is.”

“How is it that when you use your brain, it isn’t to help your company?”

“Either give me the Flash or instead, I will take down every single person in this room. Including, your little prodigy. Even if I have to make up rumours of my own. There are always journalists waiting to eat up information about this place. I’ll tell everyone the Flash is in STAR Labs.” A silence fell in the room. Olivia never broke her eye contact from Anderson as he dabbed his finger at her. Her breathing at slowed, everything was still settling in and her brain was busy coming up with a retort. 

Leaning in closer to her, he whispered, “everyone in the business knows threatening you won’t get them anywhere. But your team, you’d do anything for them right? Have you told them all of Harrison’s secrets? All the deals he made with Horizon Labs in the beginning?” He flashed a smile at everyone and turned away, swaggering away to the door.

“Anderson, get back here.” He kept walking further away from her. Around her, time slowed down. His steps echoed as her mind flipped through different scenarios while speeding by with its consequences. She considered letting him walk, but he’s so full of himself he could go off at any time. There wasn’t any research worth waving in front of him, it was all related to the Flash or the meta humans. Olivia knew he was right—going for her team was the best and the worst thing anyone could do to her. It was the best way to make her play along. But, she wasn’t about to put Barry on the line either. 

“Anderson—” he kept moving away from her reach and she marched towards him. Her steps, now, overpowering his and she slid in front of him. 

“Sit down.” Her tone changed. She pointed to the seat behind him. He tried to move around her; however, she narrowed her eyes and crept closer to him. Harry stood up as he watched Anderson move backwards. The team stood awkwardly, watching Olivia and hearing her voice change to something they were never heard before.

“I need you to sit down, Anderson.” He opened his mouth to say something, but Olivia moved so close to him that he backtracked and fell into Cisco’s chair. His hands gripped the arms rests and his eyes followed Olivia as she bent over to eye level.

“You think you can come into my place, wave around your threats, and think you won? I don’t care if we hacked your satellite or blew it up, this—” Olivia motioned to the room, “this is my playground. And I make the rules. And it's funny that you think you’re allowed to break them. You want to take me down, fine, you can try. You try to drag my team in our mess and I will make sure that I will drag your name into the mud so deep, it’ll take you your entire life to clean it off.” 

“…you—” Anderson’s eyes watched her as she kept her gaze strong and unmoving.

“You said I’d do anything for my team, right? Don’t test me.”

“Olivia…I—"

“It’s ma’am, to you.” 

Anderson nodded as she straightened her back, looking down at him. “You’re going to get out of my building and drive home. No staying in Central City. You’ve already done too much. I’ll show you to the door.” With weak legs, Anderson stood up and kept himself small from the team’s gaze as he followed Olivia to the elevator. She got in with him and took him back to the main floor. She pointed to the main door and watched him click the door behind him before turning back to Cortex. 

Olivia let out a long loud sigh.

Everything melted away from her shoulders and her fingers tingled. Her head kept spinning with questions as she leaned against a wall to catch her breath. She didn’t know if she should be angry or confused.

After Eobard, the team had promised each there they would not have any more secrets from each other. They’ve had dinners talking about their pasts and they learned about Cisco’s brother and Caitlin’s mother. Barry shared stories about him in university. Olivia told them about her time as a professor. She shared stories about the real Harrison. Cisco had every opportunity to tell her, he knew she would listen to him. Instead, she had to stand in front of Anderson being accused. Olivia curled her fingers tightly into a fist and walked towards the team.

“It was me, you know it. You don’t have to say anything, it’s my—” Cisco explained as she walked in. 

“But, I’m going to!” She snapped as she stood in front of him. She was yelling—louder than she intended. “What were you thinking?!”

“I just—”

“Anderson’s satellite! You have two of your own, Cisco! And they are better! How could you ever think that’s okay?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.” He was quiet, he glanced at Caitlin and Barry. 

“How?” Olivia’s voice kept rising causing her to wince. "What could have possibly made you hack into the Horizon Labs’ network?” Cisco took a few seconds as he turned over the reasoning he actually used when he did it.

“I—I can—there is an explanation.”

“And?” 

“I was going to tell you."

“When?”

“I was hoping it would just go away.” Olivia stared at him as he ran his fingers through his hair for the nth time. His voice was quiet, a whisper. A silence had enveloped the room and Cisco stood in front of her with his shoulder pulled up and his eyes to the floor. 

“You’re not helping yourself, Cisco.”

“He can explain.” Barry spoke up, instead. “At the time, we had to do it.” Olivia watched him. Barry gulped back a breath as Olivia let out a sigh and turned her eyes toward Caitlin. 

“You knew about this.” Olivia wasn’t asking. Caitlin turned her gaze away. “So, the three of you settled on a decision—a stupid decision—and agreed that I wasn’t trustworthy enough.”

“That’s not—it's not what you think.”

“Then what is it, Barry?”

“We were stuck. We found out that Dr. Wells was watching us, he was always watching us. We didn’t know who to trust.”

“And, yet you trusted each other.” A silence rang through the room as Barry considered his next words. 

“We couldn’t use our own satellites. We had to be discreet. Once we found out Dr. Wells was the Man in Yellow we had to keep an eye on him without alerting him. We couldn’t let him be suspicious of us.” Harry cleared his throat and Barry continued. “Thawne, I mean.” 

"So, you were keeping an eye on us.” Olivia painted in the story for them as they slowly gave her more pieces. She stared Barry straight in the eyes, "you thought I had something to do with the murder.”

Olivia’s voice had become breathless, everything from the past was rushing through her head and her ears were popping. She played every interaction between them, picking apart all their interactions and finally getting reasons for every weird interaction. 

In the silence, pieces of the past were coming together. The entire time before the singularity, the team was strange around her. Caitlin stood further away from her, always with her arms crossed across her chest. Cisco wasn’t joking around her. Barry was always making excuses around her. They would always jump when Olivia would come up behind them. The team was avoiding her. The team didn’t trust her. 

"It wasn’t—” Barry’s face had turned into desperation. His words weren’t coming out properly. He tried to paint a picture where their decisions seemed smart. “You were the closest to him. You had a life with him. It seemed—”

"It seemed impossible that I wouldn’t know what was going on.” Olivia nodded as every day flashed through her mind. "Then, why show me the body. Wouldn’t I just go back to Eobard and tell him?

"Keeping the satellite pinned on him wasn’t working. He had a routine—come here, go home, or be with you. He wasn’t doing anything that would give us a clue of what he was thinking, and we had the body for a week. It seemed like our only chance.”

“To test me. To see how I would react. Because, you still didn’t trust me.”

"Thawne played us for a long time and even when we suspected him we overlooked him. We had to go with our gut. It seemed like a good idea to get you on our side and see if we could catch him. “

“Right, you needed bait.” Barry tried to say something, and Olivia continued, “but then you caught him. You put him in the pipeline. He told you his story and it turned out I didn’t know. You could have mentioned something about the satellite, then. Unless you were still using it.”

They stood silent. They had watched Olivia stand in front of Eobard in the pipeline. She questioned him about Harrison, about the body, and about the years they spent together. They saw her tears. And yet, they came to a unanimous decision. Eobard seemed too sure that he was going to get out.

“He had been here for 15 years. He planned everything, so we thought he would have contingency plans.” Olivia felt like the air was knocked out of her when Barry’s words settled in. Barry’s voice echoed in her ears and suddenly her lehenga felt tighter. The blouse was squeezing her, and her skirt dug deeper into her, sucking the air out. 

She remembered the moments after the singularity. She remembered how she measured her steps around Barry, how she couldn’t look him in the eye. Olivia was convinced she was a bad reminder for Barry and yet, when she came back, they picked up exactly where they left off. They were stronger. They depended on each other.

Olivia bit her lower lip as it trembled. With the breath knocked out, she worried her next words would come out as whimpers. Suddenly, the lights shone brighter and glared at her. They burned her in their path. Her arms left heavy, the walls moved in closer towards her and the floor began to give away. Her feet were losing balance and she tried to steady herself by backtracking her steps. 

She felt out of place. 

“I’m sorry, Liv. We’re sorry. Everything was happening so fast. I’m sorry we didn’t trust you.” Barry’s voice felt so far away. 

“No…” her voice was breathless. She stared right at him. “You’re sorry you got caught.” Olivia spun herself away and walked away. She took herself outside to the fresh air away from the tight, suffocating room. Her breath was stuck in her throat and the only thing she knew was she was ready to either scream or throw up.

Cisco began to go after Olivia when Harry spoke up.

“Wait.” He looked at the three of them. The corners of their mouths drawn down and their shoulders hunched over. The life sucked out of them. “She won’t want to see you right now. I’ll go to her.” He watched Cisco open his mouth, reconsider and nod. 

Olivia stood at the entrance of STAR Labs. Her arms were wrapped across her chest and her head was facing the ground. She hugged herself, trying to hold herself. A small wind flew by through her hair and she trembled while shielding herself from the cold. Harry couldn’t be sure if she was crying, if she was on the verge of tears or if she was just shivering with anger. 

Harry closed the door behind him, not disturbing the silence of the night. The street lights were shining brighter and the lights from the lab illuminated the parking lot. A light breeze kept rustling the leaves and consistent drone of traffic filled the night. It was a lot similar to how their usual nights on the roof felt. Some of those nights were silent, until one of them came clean about what was bothering them.

He placed himself shoulder to shoulder with her. Both of them had learned to enjoy each other’s silences and they would always give the other to start whenever they were comfortable. It was what they did when he was in the pipeline and she sat in front of him and they stared into each other’s eyes just letting the world disappear. There was a warmth in being in each other’s surrounding, slowly merging each other’s worlds. Harry was always a man of silences, he worked better in silences and he had his thoughts. But, she took away that loneliness a little bit every time and he wanted her to be in silences. 

Olivia had never told him, or anyone, but she felt protected in his company. The roof top nights were her safety—just like this moment as they stood together under the dark and angry sky.

She shivered in her spot with the thin material of her blouse barely keeping away the wind. She wished her blouse was longer, she wished she went with another outfit. She wished she never took today off. Taking in a sharp breath, Olivia gripped her arms tighter around her. 

Harry placed his large black cardigan on her shoulders. His hands making sure it wrapped her shoulders and covering her fingers as they gripped her arms. Harry wanted to reach over and pull her in an embrace and warm her with his body heat, but he pulled his hands away and stuffed them in his pockets. 

“Am I wrong?” She whispered.

“No.” Harry was quick. There was no pause. She let out a trembling sigh, relaxing her shoulders. “But, if you start crying right now, I will not know what to do to help you.” Harry said. Olivia let out a laugh and pulled her arms through his sweater. She wrapped it around her torso and felt the little whiff of his cologne engulf her. 

“Your company is enough.”

“You handled Anderson really well. I’m glad I ended up staying in the Cortex.” 

“I really wish people don’t get to see that. I’m not usually like that, I promise.”

“It’s never bad a thing to stick up for your team.” Olivia’s smile disappeared as she nodded. She pulled the sleeves of his cardigan over her hands and curled her fingers into fists. “Let’s get coffee?”

“Yes, please.” 

\---

Leaving her car behind, the two walked through the busy streets of Central City’s night life. The awkward dance was back. They wanted to be in each other’s company but never close enough to raise any eyebrows. Their hands swayed close to each other and every time they came too close they moved away.

They moved away from large groups of friends taking up entire sidewalks. Others shuffled past them to get to their destinations. People gripped movie tickets while wandering their eyes, waiting for their dates to show up. Around them, couples walked with their fingers entangled together, enjoying each other’s company. Every sign, every conversation, every large group tried to shove them together and yet they gave themselves a distance and a force to keep them from reaching to each other.

Harry hadn’t let himself wander in the city like this before. He walked with purpose, knowing the exact point A and point B. There was a time in his life when he enjoyed these walks when he was able to pick himself away from his work and enjoy the sights around him. That time came and went, and he buried it away with everything else. Jesse didn’t need him to take her out anymore and he found himself comfortably nestled in his lab and in his work. However, the sounds were settling around him and he was quick to find himself easing into the night. He didn’t realize how much he missed this.

Harry’s eyes wandered back to Olivia and suddenly the world went mute and danced around them. The streetlights were brighter as they highlighted her profile and her jawline. She had a small smile playing on her lips as her eyes wandered around the streets, watching every interaction and every landmark and discovering everything for the first time. 

Harry watched her take lead of their walk. He noticed his heart grow fuller. He watched her sway in the wind and the lehenga flow around her sweeping her up into an elegance as she shone in the dark. He wanted to remember everything—how the wind blew around her, how she kept wrapping his cardigan around her, and how she relaxed under its warmth. Harry wanted to remember the brightness in her eyes as the night played around her.

Olivia’s walk was slower. In the lab, she was constantly moving. Her planner was in her hands as she would cross off one task and add another. She would update the team and then move into her next appointment. Cases would pile up in her office and she would run around with a coffee in her hands.

But tonight, in the middle of the crowd, Harry watched Olivia enjoy the rush as she sighed away her stress.

Harry felt breathless. His heart was threatening to jump out of his chest and his mind was floating. In the workshop, he had created a scenario when he would tell her. He knew the exact way he would tell her. And, it always started with him being breathless. Harry wanted to reach over to her, twirl her under the streetlights and look her in the eyes and tell her that she’s managed to steal a very large piece of him. But, the moment Olivia would flash her smile at him, the world sweeps from under his feet and he forgets everything. How long he’s been drowning, he still doesn’t know but he didn’t mind.

Olivia turned to look back at him, catching his eyes and gave him a smile while pulling him from his thoughts. She waited for him to pull up beside her and they continued in a comfortable silence and a closer distance. As they squeezed by larger groups, they shuffled closer to each other. 

First, their arms touched. Olivia could feel Harry’s hand close. In pulses, she felt her fingers try to move closer to his hand. A part of her wanted to reach over and interlock their fingers together and walk hand in hand. As she continued to convince herself to reach over to his arm, his hand brushed against hers. His fingers lingered just slightly at the back of her hand. It was light, barely noticeable, but long enough for her to glance at their hands. She watched his fingers flex and curl into a fist and his eyes followed her as they travelled back to face each other. They had moved in closer but still not enough.

Neither of them reached over again and kept their hands to each other. And, they arrived at Jitters that way. 

She cleared her throat, “would you like to take it to go?”

“Of course, I’ll be right back.” Olivia watched as Harry fixed his hat, covering his eyes and stood in line. He kept his gaze low and his arms around his chest—trying to make himself smaller. He stood far away for anyone to throw him another glance and he moved before anyone could bump into him. He looks tall, Olivia thought to herself. His shirt was just little bit tight and his jeans were just a little bit slender.

There was a story Olivia always remembered around Harry. She was in university and it was a new crush. A serious crush she had told her mom. There was a guy from the Science department. He kept to himself, he had cute glasses and he would get these dimples when he would smile. He was always in the library when she was there, and he would scribble a lot. She had glanced at his papers once and it was equations and diagrams. They would bump into each other and at one point began expecting each other. Olivia had felt her heart beat faster whenever he would be around and during their conversations she knew she was doing the extra hair touch and the extra lean. She noticed herself getting lost in his blue eyes. Her mom told her to watch him. She told her to pay attention when he would walk away. It worked that time.

Olivia watched Harry. She noticed him move between shoving his hands in his pockets to crossing his arms across his chest. He would look at the line and at the person at the counter. He checked the clock. Harry turned his head to notice conversations around him. Her mom’s voice echoed her head. _Does he look back?_

Olivia almost looked away when Harry turned his head over his shoulder towards her.

His eyes knew exactly where to find her, and they held eye contact. It felt like minutes passed by and the world slowed down. Olivia swore there was a smile.

If his eyes look for you and find you in the crowd, if he turns around to face you even after all that distance, you’re still on his mind, her mom had said. Olivia felt her cheeks heat up when he looked away. Her smile widened, and she laughed at herself.

—

They found themselves by the beach, away from the crowd and rush. The night had gotten cooler as the wind picked up and the clouds got dark. The waves continued in a slow, musical movement, filling the air around them. Their coffees were almost done, and it felt like they had seen the entire city. Harry leaned back on the bench, resting an arm on the backrest. There were mentions of work in between their walk but they both focused on the little brushes of their hands. They were more consistent and every time their breath would hike up to their throats and slowly release when their hands would move away. Then, they would find each other again.

“What would you have done if I had cried?” Olivia spoke up.

“I still don’t know. I don’t really work well with tears.” Harry replied.

“What do you do when Jesse cries?”

Harry shrugged, “she ends up hugging me and I let her.” Olivia let out a laugh as she shook her head.

"Are you sure you're not cold?" Harry was still navigating the night in his long sleeve shirt that continued to tighten around him.

"I'm alright, the coffee helps." Harry took a swig of his coffee--a lot colder than when he started. Olivia watched him and faced her, "I promise."

Harry cleared his throat, considering his next words. "You look nice, today." Olivia's eyes blinked towards Harry. "Not like you don't always look nice. I mean, I'm not--I'm not staring, just when I see you every day at the lab. When I notice you around the lab, I mean. Your outfits are...you--you look," Harry tried to motion with his hands, 'I mean--" Harry cleared his throat and ran his fingers through his hair. Olivia tried to hide her smile as she watched him shift in his seat.

"What I'm trying to say is," she let him gather his thoughts and he finally turned to her. He wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful and regal and elegant. He wanted to tell her that he couldn't take his eyes off her, ever. But, instead he took in a deep breath and focused on her.

"You look nice."

"Thank you, Harry." Giving him a little laugh, she looked away as her cheeks began to warm up and focused on fixing her lehenga.

“I think your sweater really brings the look together.” She said.

“It really completes the look.” He smiled.

“I agree, it was missing this.” Olivia pulled the cardigan tighter around her and sighed in its warmth.

"Was it for something special?"

“It was for a wedding reception. I had an invitation to the wedding too but that was out of town and I couldn't imagine leaving the team in the middle of all that." Harry wanted to ask about the dance but, drank the question away. Instead, he nodded to her reply.

“How are you?” Harry said. 

“I’m enjoying this. All this water, our coffees, and this bench. Otherwise, I’m still trying to work through it. I think I’m angry. But, maybe I’m hurt more. Or I might be disappointed—maybe more in myself.”

“Are you angry at them for not telling you or because they did it?” 

“Both. It’s a little bit of both.” Olivia trembled and took a long sip to shove the rock in her throat back down. Harry fought the urge to reach over and rest his hand on her shoulder. 

“What would you have done if they had told you?”

Olivia sighed, “I would have still been angry. But I would have heard them out, actually listened to their perspective. I would have given them a chance and worked through it together but now I don’t really want to see them. I don’t want to be around them. At least, not yet.”

“Desperation has a way of making people do strange things—things completely differently than what they would have done otherwise,” taking in a sigh, Harry considered his next words. “I don’t let feelings ever define my work, I end up making mistakes. And yet, when Jesse was kidnapped, and I couldn’t do anything to save her, I became desperate—willing to do anything.” 

“You were trying to save her, Harry. There’s nothing wrong about that.”

“I killed a man, Olivia. I was so hopeless that taking someone’s life didn’t mean anything to me. It was just to be a little bit closer to Jesse. I can’t say if the team was afraid or just desperate for the Man in Yellow that they weren’t willing to think about anything else. Why they chose not to trust you after it was obvious that you didn’t know about Thawne is on them and will always be on them. But, in that moment, that was their only logical thought.”

“I would have listened to them. If not then, at least after.”

“I’m not proud of what I did. If it weren’t for my recordings, I would have never told Jesse. If it weren’t for Zoom, I probably wouldn’t have told you about trying to steal Barry’s speed. I didn’t want to…I was afraid of your reaction.” Harry felt Olivia’s eyes on him. “I knew it would have been something between Joe’s anger and Barry’s sadness, a special mix of disappointment. And, I didn’t want to break your trust.”

“Harry, you—”

“The fact that the team was able to keep quiet about it for this long is outstanding. I was about to break, and I may have if not for Zoom. But, I can only imagine that at this point, they were afraid.” Olivia waited for him to continue. “They already lost you before and it was so hard to bring you back.”

Olivia sighed. She gripped her coffee tighter and bit her trembling lower lip.

“But, something else is on your mind?”

“I…” Oliva cleared her throat and shook her head. Harry watched her as she flipped through different ideas in her mind. Secrets of her own flipped through her head, things she’s tried to bury.

“You know, one of the things I’ve learned here is keeping things to yourself doesn’t actually help. I tried to help Jesse under false pretenses and got nowhere, I tried to steal Barry’s speed and we know how that turned out. Apparently, it’s better to share.” Olivia let out a little laugh.

“Really? Where did you learn that?”

“You told me.” Harry and Olivia stared at each other. The world had begun to melt away. Olivia stared at his ocean blue eyes and the problems and secrets she had buried in her mind had begun to feel slip away. She wanted to tell him everything. She wanted to tell him about the conversation Eobard had with her when he was in the pipeline. She wanted to tell him what Eobard whispered in her ear before he injected her with the dark matter. She wanted to tell him about the night Eobard, with Harrison’s face, proposed to her and she had said yes, yet still hid the ring from the team. Olivia wanted to tell him every little secret she kept even from herself—the secret that she was slowly yet unquestionably falling in love with him.

Instead, she cleared her mind and said, “I didn’t want to come back. When I left, I thought it was the best for them that they don’t see me anymore. And it was better for me too. STAR labs was never my dream and everything that came with it wasn’t something I wanted. It was all Eobard. It was his crazy. But, then I realized, they are the only family I have left. They could want to leave me, but I want them around me.”

“They probably wouldn’t have been able to get very far without you.” Olivia scoffed.

“They’re not children, Harry. They would have been fine.”

“They don’t like to start their mornings without you and you want them to go through all of this on their own? The three of them may be your weak spot, but you are theirs as well.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t be angry at them?”

“No, you should be angry. Let yourself be angry. They have to deal with it and go through the cycle, but just don’t let this define your relationship with them. The team is still worth it, they’re still the same Barry, Caitlin, and Cisco.”

“They are a pretty good team, aren’t they?”

“I do wish I had this team back on my earth.” 

“How is Earth-2 like? I don’t think you’ve ever told me.” Olivia smiled at Harry.

Harry watched the waves with a smile on his face. “It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. It’s everything. It carries hope everywhere. Every city has survived so much over time. Stories from Pompeii and its volcano are still passed through their people. Stories of resilience. The smallest places flourishing and thriving for so long without technology and now incorporating its knowledge with new innovations. Although, my knowledge is deep rotted in Science, I wish I had let myself get lost in the cities.” 

“What else?”

“We’ve managed to curb global warming. It’s been a long time now, it started when I was younger. It felt like the world was getting out of hand at one point, but we managed to pool our resources. Our scientists, artists, researchers, and innovators came out with solutions and all our ice caps are healthier than they ever were. Every specialization, science to arts, is constantly creating healthier outcomes. And now we’ve managed to enter deep space."

“Deep Space?! You’re mapping the deep dark space?”

“Something that the lab had hand in—that’s where the name is partly inspired from. Jesse is especially proud of that.” 

“Your Earth sounds incredible. It has everything! How have you managed to spend so much time here?”

“My Earth doesn’t have this.” Olivia noticed Harry watching her. His eyes were resting on her, never wavering from her face. The space between them had become small. She could feel Harry’s warmth. Suddenly, they were sitting too close to each other. She became aware of his arm behind her back. Her heart threatened to rip out of her chest and she began to wonder if this was all just a dream. The beach is never this peaceful. It’s never been this quiet, not when the night life has just started. And, yet it was just the two of them. If it were a dream, she didn’t want to wake from it. Instead, she wanted to slide in closer to Harry.

A loud group of kids burst through her dream and she sat there with her eyes still stuck on Harry and she blinked away. 

“When are you going back?” _Finally_ , Harry thought.

“I don’t think I want to go back soon.” Noticing the shock on her face, he continued, “I still have a lot to do here. I could still help Barry. I could help out with your global warming problem. I think Jesse is liking it here too.” 

“I wonder why,” Olivia gave him a wink and he rolled his eyes.

“Don’t remind me. As long as she likes it here.” 

“So, you’re staying here for the good of the earth?”

_Tell her I like her._ Jesse’s voice whispered through Harry’s mind.

“I like it here. I like…your work with the criminal profiles. I like that I’m able to help. I…I like this.” He did it again.

He watched her when he said it. Olivia felt herself twist closer towards him, closing the distance between them. His hand rested softly on her back, barely touching her. They stared at each other, both their hearts beating out of their chests. Their eyes never leaving each other. Their foreheads barely touching when their eyes travelled down noticing their breaths continued to entangle together. Harry noticed the smell of jasmine engulfing him. Their distance slowly disappearing when the first drops of the rain showered over them. 

They scattered away from each other, cowering from the rain. Olivia gathered her hair up in a bun while her heart was in her throat and she shivered. Her breath was warm, and she kept thinking about Harry’s eyes and the way they danced around her face. They were shining in the darkness, they were the light in the night. Her hands still tingled from when she wanted to cup his face in her hands.

“Here,” Harry put his hand in front of her, “hold onto me, I’ll lead the way.” For a second, she watched Harry and looked at his hand through the rain drops. The rain became heavier and slowly she reached over holding his hand—their hands soft against each other. When she began collecting her skirt in her hand to keep it from dragging on the ground, she saw the yellow flash. It was quick and in the corner of her eye. But, it was still a streak of light tearing through the water in front of her.

“Olivia?” Harry stared at her and she shook her head when he led them away. He weaved them through the crowds as he kept looking back at her keeping his grip tight around her hand. 

Harry pulled them under a small roof. The rain drummed under the roof as they both busied themselves shaking off the rain. Thunder filled the skies and lightening attacked the city around them. With more clashes, people ran around them. Harry shivered in his shirt as it clung tighter around him and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“I would offer your sweater back to you.” Olivia said over the sound the rising sounds of the rain.

“It’s alright, at least one of us is warm” Harry smiled at her.

“I think it’s time for some ice cream.” Harry stared at her as they both continued to shiver from the wind.

“Olivia, you just had coffee.” It was a matter of fact. “And, it’s raining.”

“Now we can eat our feelings. It’s a great combination.” She nodded at the store away from them. “I see my favourite place.” Olivia began gathering her skirt again as it continued to get heavier soaking the water around her.

“You’re gonna make me get a cold.”

“Probably. Follow me.” Olivia waited for him to walk next to her as she led the way. The roof was barely covering the two and the further they walked, the less shelter they had. The wind gusts battered the rain around, whipping the drops around in every direction. The roar of the rain and thunder was overcome with the scurry of everyone around them. People shoved themselves inside restaurants and stuffed themselves into stores. Others pushed past each other to rush to their cars.

Harry and Olivia were squeezed together against the flurry of people. Harry focused on his steps with his eyes staring down and shielded from the rain drops. He noticed Olivia’s shoulders go stiff with every cry of thunder. With Olivia’s attention focused on ignoring the thunder, someone stepped on her lehenga pulling her backwards mid step throwing her off balance. As Olivia tripped, Harry wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. With them squeezed together, their distance disappeared. Again. Her hands were gripping his shirt and her eyes staring at him. Under the soaking rain, their breaths danced around them as they stood in each other’s arms. As Olivia reached for his face, a flash of yellow ripped through the crowd. Harry was shoved to the wall when a breeze surrounded her. Groaning, Harry sat up, rubbing his head. 

“Harry!” Olivia kneeled in front of him. Her hands cupped his face as she scanned for bruises. “Are you okay?” He grunted as he blinked rapidly trying to focus. His hand was wrapped around her wrist when they stared at each other. A deep, low scoff echoed in their ears. Harry knew Zoom’s voice, and this wasn’t Zoom. 

“Oh, I’ve missed you.” 

Olivia froze as her hands went cold against Harry’s cheeks. Even though Eobard stole Harrison’s face, he was never able to copy his voice..

Before Harry could react, his vision went dark. 

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up being longer than expected.


End file.
